Secrets of the Spiral Tower (19 page)

Chapter
16

As usual, Willow was the first to arrive at the office. Sitting at her desk, she quickly began transcribing the notes she had taken the day before. Outlining every issue Mr. Lim presented and then adding her answer in bold print immediately below, left the appearance that she knew exactly how to handle this opportunity. Her goal this morning was to complete the process and when John arrived, discuss it with him and get his input and concurrence.

Just like clockwork, John arrived at nine thirty.  Through the glass partitions surrounding two sides of her office, Willow caught a glimpse of him as he walked by.

“John, could I show you what I’ve come up with? I want to be sure I captured everything Mr. Lim said, so I can start putting our proposal together.”

“You’ve got an outline already?”

“Yes, at least a partial one.”

“Okay. Let me get a cup of coffee so I can wake up. Meet me in the conference room.”

After four hours of intense discussions and review, Willow and John thought it was time to take a break. They had a revised draft proposal that she would clean up and print five copies so that she, John, and the other three executives could meet and discuss it.

Willow was little bit hesitant, knowing that Michael would try every way possible to tear it apart. But the CEO had spoken and she always followed his instructions. The revised plan included taking a strong offensive stance toward Congress as well as U.S. manufacturers of similar products. Included, also was a plan to negotiate with the Food and Drug Administration. The bottom line of all the discussions and testimony, if required, was an effort to demonstrate the value of China’s product to the overall worldwide industry. One element would be a reciprocal agreement with China for U.S. manufactures to sell their products to the Chinese population of 1.3 billion people or about four times the population of the United States.  Willow thought
that shouldn’t be a hard sell to Congress, FDA, or American manufacturers.

Leaning back in her chair, taking a break from the computer, Willow suddenly remembered she had promised Tony a call. Glancing up at the clock, she wondered if she should call or not. How would the call be perceived?
Would it appear that she was anxious? It was three fifteen and near the end of the trading day for the stock market when things get more hectic. After three rings on his cell phone, Tony answered.

“Tony, this is Willow.”

“Hi Willow, I recognized your voice. How are things with you?”

“Going quite well, thank you.”

“Have you made a decision on my proposal?”

“As a matter of fact, I have and I accept. Did you say around eight?”

“Yeah, but I had some good fortune today. I was given two tickets to the Nets game tonight with San Antonio at Madison Square Garden. Do you want to go?”

“You mean go to a professional basketball game? Yes, I would love to go. I go to at least one game a year. This is a perfect matchup. I didn’t play basketball in school, but I was a very good soccer player, if I do have to say so myself. I played the goalie position and I could kick that ball half way down the field.”

“Okay. Then we will have to move the time up to six rather than eight.   Although I’ve got reserved tickets, it’s always fun to go a little bit early and watch some of the warm up antics. Is six tonight a problem?”

“No. I don’t think so. I’ll be ready.”

“Well all right, I’ll see you then.”

Leaning back in her chair, and staring at the ceiling, Willow considered the possibility it could be a fun and relaxing evening
.  It will be nice to be completely away from the office and my co-workers. Maybe Tony is someone I can have a relaxed relationship with—just a night out with no strings attached
.

At six sharp, Willow’s doorbell rang. Opening the door, Willow saw a handsome man with a bouquet of flowers.

“Oh Tony, you shouldn’t have. They are beautiful. Come on in. I’ll be ready in a couple of minutes. Make yourself comfortable.”

Looking around, Tony said, “Nice condo Willow. I’ve never seen the inside of this building before. Have you lived here since arriving in New York?”

“No, my first home was in one of those high-rises over on 33
^rd
Street. It was small, but nice. I needed more room, so two years ago when this one came available I moved in. This puts me a little closer to the Subway Station. By the way, where do you live?”

“About three blocks in the other direction on the south end of 32nd Street.”

“I know that building. I looked at an apartment before I moved to 33
^rd
Street. Those apartments are older.”

“Yeah, but they are well maintained.”

“I noticed that when I looked at it, but at the time there were no vacancies. So, on to 33
^rd
Street.”

“You know, I remember seeing you come from 32
^nd,
but I guess we never talked about it.”

“I guess you were too busy analyzing my mental faculties for us to talk about housing.”

“Now, Willow. Let’s not accuse me of something you don’t know.”

At that moment, Willow stepped into the room with flowers in a vase, putting them on a table near the window.

“Pretty, huh?” she asked.

“Yeah, they look very nice in the vase with the sun’s rays coming through the window. But not as pretty as you in that pink pants suit.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere you know. But I suggest we head to the Garden. I’m really looking forward to this game.”

The game was a thriller with the winner determined by the last shot from outside the arc with only .2 second left in the game.

Tony and Willow had a fun-filled evening that ended half past midnight. When the taxi stopped in front of Willow’s condo, Tony, being the perfect gentleman, stepped out to open her door. She gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek.

 “I had a wonderful time. We must do it again. It will be my treat. Hope you have a great weekend. Call me Monday and thanks again for the flowers.”

Tony was stunned. He wanted to walk Willow to her door, but her control over the moment didn’t leave him a chance without being awkward. So, he sat down in the taxi as Willow disappeared into her building.

Chapter 17

Saturday morning rolled around and Willow was up at eight for her work-out on the treadmill. She was an avid exerciser, and kept her body in good shape by eating the right things and exercising on a routine basis.

After a thirty minute jog on the treadmill, she had a bowl of wheat grain cereal, topped off with fresh strawberries. She made a special blend of a banana, fresh peaches, blueberries, Splenda and skim milk. She retrieved her morning paper and with a cup of coffee, sat on the east-facing balcony and relaxed in the morning sun.

At ten, she was in the shower getting ready for a productive Saturday afternoon at the office. Today, however, would prove to be quite a bit different. Arriving at the office shortly after noon, she saw Michael in his office.

Walking by his door, Willow said, “Good afternoon, Michael. I didn’t expect to see you here today. I see you’re working as hard as ever.” 

“Yes, you know how it is around here,” he said sarcastically. “Some of you ‘bitches’ are trying to get ahead of me. But, it won’t happen.”

That comment startled Willow. She had never been referred to, at least not to her face, as a bitch.

Not wanting to pick a fight, she made no comment and quietly walked to her office. With her back to the door, facing a large computer screen and concentrating on her work, Willow was unaware that Michael had entered her office. He moved quietly and cautiously to within three feet of her when she saw his reflection on her screen. As she turned to face him, Michael lunged, trying to pin her in her chair. Being too quick for him, she wheeled her chair to the left and jumped up and screamed.

“Michael, what are you doing?”

Without saying a word, he lunged toward her again. This time she kicked him squarely in the groin, just as hard as she used to kick that soccer ball. He fell to the floor in the fetal position holding his private area with both hands.

Concerned she had hit him too hard; Willow moved closer.  “Michael, what’s gotten into you?”

Balled up on the floor, his voice quivered as he said, “You’ve hurt my reputation with this firm. I should have the China account.”

“Michael, John picked me. You need to accept that and help us get on with your projects. If you want to assist me, I’ll let you know when I need you. But after this episode, I don’t think I’ll ever speak to you again.”

“Are you going to tell John?”

“That depends entirely on you. Are you going to stay away from me? Are you going to back-bite me?  I’ll do what I think is right to protect myself and this project. I think I’ll write a memo and keep it in my drawer. If you ever try something like this again, I’ll bring it out for the world to see. I will go to extreme measures to ruin your reputation in the advertising business if this ever happens again.”

 Standing over him and looking directly into his eyes, Willow said, “You had better cut a wide path around me, buddy.”

“Okay, Willow, I’ll stay away.”

“Now get the hell out of my office before I do more harm to you.”

Shaken by this incident, Willow locked her office, leaving Michael stumbling toward his office, still writhing in pain. Then she thought,
I need to file charges against this guy. He
has been a pain in my side from the first day I sat foot in this place
. Returning to her desk, she turned the security screen on, and sure enough there was Michael shown entering the agency door. She thought,
this is good and will support my claim that he was
present. Otherwise, he could deny he was present and it would be my word against his. All I need to do is bring this to John’s attention and tell him my intentions to file assault charges
.  Picking up her desk phone, she punched John’s cell number.

John answered, “Good afternoon, Willow. I see you’re at the office. What’s up?”

“Michael just attacked me in my office.”

“What? Are you okay?”

“Physically okay, but a bit shaken mentally. Michael has a problem though.”

“Do I need to send an ambulance for him?”

“That won’t be necessary. He is in the executive restroom trying to recover from the swift kick I gave him in the groin.”

“Are you sure he doesn’t need medical assistance?”

“You might want to call him on his cell phone and ask him. Personally, I don’t care if he dies.”

“I’ll do that. You stay put.”

“Okay.” 

John called Michael and in a pain-filled voice he answered, “Hello.”

“My God, Michael, what happened?”

“That bitch just kicked the hell out of me and I’m hurt pretty bad.”

“Have you called for medical assistance?”

“No, I haven’t, but I would like to kill that bitch.”

“Michael, I’m coming to the office. Stay there unless you need to go to the hospital.”

“I think something is ruptured. Call 911 for me.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.  I’ll be there as quick as I can.”

The emergency response team arrived to find Michael curled up on the floor. After a brief examination, they loaded him onto a gurney and took him to the nearest hospital emergency room.

John rang Willow’s number again and said, “Lock your office door and stay inside until I get there. I’m going to call security and ask someone to come to your office.”

Chapter 18

Michael had in fact suffered a rupture. After a few days off to recuperate, he returned to the office. Activities were moving quickly. Willow continued to fine-tune the proposal. She knew that the packaging of the proposal, the eye appeal, carried a lot of weight and she spent considerable time designing a colorful and provocative binder.  

It was Monday morning, the 3
^rd
of July, and Willow was ready to present her China Proposal to John and the other Executives at SRN/IAA.  As with every move she made, there was a calculated advantage to setting the presentation on the 3
^rd
. She was thinking several questions could be raised and time wouldn’t permit a complete answer. But, on the 4
^th
, when everybody else would be enjoying the holiday, she would have an extra day to finalize the details and her response.

It also was a trademark of Willow’s, while presenting an advertising proposal to company executives or the client, to wear a designer outfit. Today was no exception. She had chosen a black pants suit with white laced blouse, a gold necklace with a pendant in the shape of the sun, about the size of a silver dollar. Her matching ear rings, bracelet with two slides, each in honor of her father’s and mother’s birthdays, and on her right ring finger, her mother’s wedding ring completed the professional, confident look. All of her jewelry accessories were elegant, tastefully sized, and accented her blonde shoulder length hair.

With the company executives assembled in their designated places at the conference table, and their principal staffs seated directly behind them, Willow was ready to launch. Presentations like this were always formal in nature and served as dress rehearsals for the face-to-face meeting with clients. The stage was set and show time started as Willow stepped to the microphone saying, “Executive Staff and support personnel, welcome to this presentation. Today, I’m going to present my proposal for our Chinese client. We will use the points you raise during the meeting to polish the document.  You all know the process. I will present my proposal and each of you will provide comments on ways to improve it. Obviously, our executives will present their ideas, followed by support personnel. I will record each statement and address it as appropriate. Comments unresolved today will receive immediate attention with a deadline of resolving them within a seven day period. I’m hoping the support staff will serve as customers for the product and ask questions in that vein. What I’m looking  for today is the development of catch phrases and sound bites that will make the products marketable, not only here in the States for Chinese-American and Caucasian women, but around the globe. That is a tall order and I know one glove won’t fit all of the consumers out there.  I will adjust as necessary for maximum impact. If that is fair, I will continue.”

Everyone nodded their approval.

Noting no opposition, Willow continued: “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m about to discuss with you a revolutionized line of products that will make your body look and feel good. The luxurious formulas used to make these products give the consumer more of what they want in body care products. The lipsticks, for example, give the wearer more glamorous colors that last all day and into the evening, as well as feel fabulous until removed.”

John interrupted asking, “Do you have lipstick for men as well as women?”

Laughing, Willow said: “Yes, John. You men are taken care of, also. But, we prefer to call it ‘a good quality or lip balm rather than men’s lipstick’. Included in this line of products are body enhancers, health and skin care creams, dietary supplements, and a wide range of fragrances for women and men. When used over a period of time, you will maintain perfect skin and if you follow the dietary guidelines, a slimming body will emerge.  I will go so far as to say that if you use these products on a seven-day trial basis, I’m confident you will see a significant difference in your appearance, not only physically, but mentally as well.”

“Mentally?” Kirk asked, “Will a doctor’s prescription be required to buy the products?”

“No. But, it is recommended that the users of the dietary products seek approval from their family physician, just to determine if their body is healthy enough for such activity.  You will enjoy living longer, satisfied lives. Now, that is not to say that the Chinese have found the fountain of youth. But, you can decide that for yourself. We all know that as we get older, our appearance needs more attention due mainly to the abuse we have subjected our bodies to in those earlier years. We need more moisturizers and cover ups. These products do both. I have used these products for the last two weeks and I can truly say that they have a suppleness I haven’t felt since I was a teenager. The abuse my skin received, during those long summers while ‘catching rays’ from the hot Mississippi sun, have been erased somewhat.”

Michael rudely interrupted.“Are you telling me these products will erase lines and dryness caused by years of exposure to the sun? I don’t believe so!”

“Michael, it is just like smoking. It is never too late to quit. These products will protect and moisturize your skin. They won’t make new skin. But they will erase some of those crow feet wrinkles.”

John asked, “Willow, do you have anything more to give us?”

“Yes. These skin care products protect all types of complexions from ruddy to silky smooth; from black to white and all shades in between. And, now, I will close my comments. You may have been born with beautiful skin, but now you will have it forever with the daily use of products made in China. Skin care from China.”

John was the first to applaud and the others joined him.

“It is a marvelous piece of work, Willow. If you wanted to add more about the natural materials used in making these products, you could. It is not necessary, but in this time of ‘going green’, some consumers might be intrigued by knowing that the products aren’t 100 percent produced in a laboratory. Your decision.”

Moving to the support staff, Willow asked, “Douglas, what are your thoughts?’

“The only question I have is what media do you propose to use initially?”

“I want to start with some of the more prominent national papers and let the interest and response dictate our next move.”

“That’s a good idea. If you intend to go on television, you’ll need to hire a professional actress.”

In a kidding voice, Willow asked, “Why Doug, don’t you think I can deliver the message?”

Blushing slightly, Doug said, “Of course, you can. You are quite stunning in that black pants outfit. But I suggest you consider hiring an actress and then maybe spring off into the everyday world of housewives. The best plan would be for the everyday, average, middle income woman to use the products for a period of time, then show before and after photos and let them genuinely express their results.”

“Doug, I hope you’re not saying we should bribe some women?”

“No, not exactly. But if you want this to be wildly successful, you have to pay the price to get the message out. And, for these to be clean and meet the ethical standards of TV advertising, you must put a tag line on the screen that states that this is a paid advertisement.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that comment under consideration.”

“And by the way, you did a fabulous job in your presentation. I’m convinced that I will buy some of the products for my use when they become available.”

“There is a long road ahead of us. You know the FDA, trade-deficient tariffs and who knows what restrictions the Congress might impose.”

“Kirk, it is your turn.”

“I have a different idea. I think you should launch these products in the Sunday papers around the country. I don’t see any rationale or need to restrict this message to only the prestigious papers. What you’re trying to do is introduce these products to the masses. Right?”

“Right, but--.”

Kirk interrupted before Willow could finish her response saying, “The prestigious papers are read by stuffed-shirts that drive BMW’s. The real consumers don’t subscribe to those papers and will never see your products. Forget the stuffed-shirts. Go for the two-income families in Middle America. These are the people that, as you put it, need the glamorous and fabulous products that make them look and feel great.”

“Now, Kirk, that’s a new twist, don’t you drive a BMW?”

“Yes, and you’re not going to convince me and my fellow stuffed-shirts, that we need your product.”

“Okay, then. Thanks for your eye-opening comments. Michael, now it’s your turn. Do you have any comments?”

Emphatically, he said, “Yes, I do. As a native New Yorker, that Southern accent of yours kills any significantly important message you might deliver.”

Stunned by that comment, Willow rose to face Michael, when John stepped in saying, “Michael, let’s be civil here. Comments like that are totally out of order. If you have constructive comments, ok. But stay away from any personal attacks.”

Red-faced and with clenched fists, Michael asked, “These products haven’t been tested by any studies in this country, have they?”

Glaring at Michael and in a stern voice, Willow said, “No, Michael, they haven’t, but—.”

Michael interrupted. “Okay, that proves my point. You’ve made some claims about the quality of these skin care products, but you have no legitimate research to back up your statements. Therefore, before going on-the-air, you should initiate a bona fide year-long study effort and release your findings at the end of that time. You know this company could be sued for false claims, should the products not deliver the desired results. And, furthermore, what about coordination with the FDA? Have you discussed any of this with representatives of that agency?”

“No. To do so at this juncture would be ill-advised. What I propose is that we present this briefing to our Chinese client. If we get his approval, then we will go to the next step, which includes discussions with the FDA.”

Turning to John, Willow asked, “Do you think I need to contact the FDA before we get approval from Lim?”

“You know, Willow, it would be a good move to alert the FDA as to the chemical composition of these products. That would be more of a courtesy informational meeting, rather than a decision meeting.”

“Okay. I can handle that. But do you agree we should discuss this proposal with our client first?”

“Yes, we should. Why don’t you contact him and set it up? Rather than having Lim come to our office, let’s hop a flight and visit him on his turf.”

“Are you saying we should fly to China?”

“Yes, all the way to Beijing.”

“A trip to China,” Willow exclaimed. “That would be great.”

“Michael, since you’re the designated logistics coordinator, please check on a flight schedule. I doubt there will be a direct flight, but at least get us on a non-stop to the West Coast.”

“Yes Sir. What dates?”

“Willow, will give you the specifics after you contact Lim?”

Beaming with confidence, Willow said, “Thanks to all of you for your helpful suggestions. I’ll take them to heart and let you know what happens next.”

As the room began to empty, John said, “Willow, hold on for a second.”

Turning, with her note books pulled up to her chest, she said, “Yes sir.”

“Willow, I hope you didn’t get too upset with Michael and his comments. I’m running a thought through my mind on what to do with him.”

“You know, John, I’ve come to realize that he will try to derail me at every opportunity. So, I’ve learned to guard my words and take his comments with a grain of salt. When I feel myself getting upset, I always remember some words spoken a long time ago by a very wise man. ‘Patience is never more important than when you are on the edge of losing it.’ I realize Michael is very jealous, and trying my patience. But I can deal with it.”

“That’s good. Michael is a male chauvinist and thinks women have no place in the professional world.  But he may be dangerous though, so keep a close eye on him. After watching him today, I have a big shock in store for him.”

“Will do, thank you, John. I know there are only two people in this firm I have to satisfy. That’s you and me.”

“And, as long as our actions are making money for the firm, I’m happy.”

“What do you think about taking a few extra days to be a tourist in China?”

Beaming once again, Willow said, “I would love that.”

“I say that we should tour some of the country before meeting with Lim. That way, we could get a better feel for the culture. I will call the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and set something up. Let me do that before you give Michael our flight dates. And, no one else here needs to know what our specific plans are. As far as they are concerned, it’s all business.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Let’s get out of here and make some travel plans.”

With that exchange John opened the door only to find Michael standing nearby.

Willow wondered if Michael had been eavesdropping.

Without acknowledging Michael, Willow walked past him to her office. Flipping to her address book on the computer, she quickly dialed Lim’s overseas phone number. After the third ring, a female voice answered in Chinese.

Willow said, “Please speak English.”